The Clean Bathroom Approach to PPC Ad Copy

We naturally believe in the principle of internal consistency. It may not make sense in every situation, but we believe it anyway.

If you walk into a restaurant’s bathroom and it’s filthy, you wonder how clean — or disgusting — the kitchen is, even though it’s unlikely that the same people who clean the bathroom also work in kitchen. Or at least one hopes that it’s unlikely!

Well, the same principle of internal consistency applies to PPC Ad copy. Take a look at the following contest, and with that principe in mind, see if you can’t pick out which ad outperformed the other:

So, assuming that the search Keyword was “Turquoise Earrings” the ads are fairly similar, with Ad A offering more specifics to strengthen the “save” claim and Ad B strengthening the free shipping claim with “on all orders.” But frankly, neither of those is the deciding factor here

The deciding factor that put Ad B ahead on Click-Through Rates was the internal consistency between the headline offer of “Turquoise Earrings” and the body copy describing them as “Beautiful & Authentic.” Because when you’re talking about natural stone — especially a natural stone that’s often over-dyed and imitated — a claim of “authentic” is naturally what you’d expect to hear. It’s internally consistent with the offer, thereby making the whole ad more persuasive and believable.

And that’s why Ad B won the contest AND a spot in today’s WIn of the Week column.